No guns for those under 30 yrs

The legal age to procure an arms licence is 21 years and above. But if you happen to be a resident of Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts, you will have to wait till you turn 30, reports Peeyush Khandelwal.

The legal age to procure an arms licence is 21 years and above. But if you happen to be a resident of Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar districts, you will have to wait till you turn 30.

This move is to curb misuse of arms licence, as authorities said 90 per cent enquiries and applications for a licence are from youngsters who have no valid reasons to own arms.

Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate (DM) Deepak Aggarwal said: “During our survey, it was found that around 90 per cent youngsters want to get an arms licence without any valid reason. So we have made a district-level decision to curb the use of arms by youngsters in the age group of 21 to 30 years.”

Both the districts have around 31,000 arms licences, which include prohibited bores like single/double barrel guns, revolvers and pistols.

“The decision is welcome for the safety and security of other residents but the administration should also curb the inflow of illegal arms which are frequently used in crime,” said retired Naval Commodore Lokesh Batra, who is a Noida resident.

Ghaziabad City Magistrate Umesh Mishra said a person with 30 years or above is considered mature enough to handle guns.